A Canadian in Paris by John Drudge

He leaned

Against the wall

Of the Seine

With a slow cigar

And watched

The lights of Pont Neuf

On the water

Near the Canadian pub

In the Latin Quarter

Where he had watched

The hockey game

In the early evening

Drinking Labatt’s on draft

And speaking English

To a bartender

From Montreal

As a young couple

Held each other

Beneath a streetlight

On the cobblestone bank

Along the river below

In the mist

Of an early morning

In Paris

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John is a social worker working in the field of disability management and holds degrees in social work, rehabilitation services, and psychology. He is the author of three books of poetry: “March” and “The Seasons of Us” (both published in 2019) and New Days (published in 2020). His work has appeared widely in numerous literary journals, magazines, and anthologies internationally. John is also a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee and lives in Caledon Ontario, Canada with his wife and two children.